Social and Political Life in the Vijayanagara Empire (A.D. 1346 – A.D. 1646) v2.c20.s3.64

v2.c20.s3.64

According to foreign travellers, therefore, the public woman was entitled to be present on certain occasions—at the time of feasts, when festivals were held, and during a campaign.³ Since foreign travellers are careful enough to differentiate between courtezans and the women who performed duties in the royal house-hold or under the State as judges, bailiffs, and the like, and since none of the contemporary witnesses tells us that prostitutes held the various posts mentioned by Nuniz in detail, one may accept with great reser-